Chu Zhongtian wasn’t willing to give up just like that. “Brother Wang, is there any way to get some more salt permits?” he asked.

Wang Fu shook his head and forced a smile. “It wouldn’t have been an issue in the past, but brother Chu knows that we’ve already suffered serious losses from the plundering of our trade station by the foreign tribes. We were barely able to scrape together this batch of salt permits with what little grain we still had stored up. It is completely impossible to purchase another batch of them.”

Chu Zhongtian sank back into his chair. He felt as if he had aged a decade or more. “What can we do to make sure we can sell our salt this year?”

Deep down, he already knew that nothing could be done. He only asked this for the sake of it.

Wang Fu clenched his teeth and said, “Brother Chu, I might have a way.”

“What is it?” Chu Zhongtian asked hastily.

Wang Fu said, “I’ve already prevented any news pertaining to the theft of the salt permits from leaking out. I won’t ever admit it no matter what, so I’ll just pretend no salt permits were stolen. Let’s use next year’s salt permits first to ride out this storm. That should give us a way out.”

The salt industry was massive. Sometimes, a single year’s salt permits weren’t enough to cover the demand. That was why the officials kept three years’ worth of salt permits in reserve just in case.

However, using these salt permits didn’t come without a price. Just the costs alone were extremely high.

Normal salt permits cost 1.5 taels of silver each, while future salt permits cost 2.1 taels of silver extra per permit, when used in advance. This was equivalent to the interest on a loan, and the court also used this to control the wider salt economy, preventing the salt merchants from dumping too much salt into the market at once.

“But the cost of using those salt permits will be much higher,” said Chu Zhongtian with a frown. The costs of putting the salt on the market would be three or four times greater. That was way too expensive.

Wang Fu shook his head. “Brother Chu has misunderstood my intentions. What I propose is to pretend that the future salt permits were the ones that were stolen. This way, once things settle down next year, we can return to business-as-usual. Everything will be kept a secret, and this can help us out of our current desperate situation.”

Chu Zhongtian was mortified. “We absolutely must not! We’ll be gouging out a chunk from the royal court! If things blow up, this will become a huge crime!”

Wang Fu said, “With brother Chu’s network in Brightmoon City and my Wang clan’s many years of experience, there is no way that things could spiral out of control so easily. Moreover, using future salt permits is something practiced by all the clans. How many of them have even paid their full due in taxes?”

Chu Zhongtian’s voice became grave. “This was only done for a small amount of salt last year, so everyone turned a blind eye and let it pass. This time, it would be for a whole year’s worth of salt! It’s way too dangerous. I absolutely cannot agree to this.”

Wang Fu sighed. “Brother Chu, please forgive me for being so direct, but what else can we do?

“As far as I know, the illicit salt trade has gotten more and more out of hand, and your Chu clan hasn’t been able to sell a lot of your salt, correct?

“Your clan couldn’t even sell the salt when the price of each permit was 1.5 taels of silver. If the price of each permit rises to almost 4 taels of silver, it will only grow harder for you to sell your salt. Moreover, even if you did manage to sell it, how much would your Chu clan make? The Chu clan is so large, and your expenditures are correspondingly vast. Without the revenue from your salt business, you could quickly see yourself in the red. Is that not true?”

Chu Zhongtian had had enough. He stood up suddenly. “Our Chu clan has endured for hundreds of years. This loss is still something I can shoulder.”

Even though they’d suffer greatly, at worst, they could still sell off some of their ancestral property.

Just as his anger was about to bubble over, Wang Fu threw himself at his feet and held onto his legs. “Brother Chu!” he cried. “Your Chu clan can bear this burden, but our Wang clan cannot! After having our trade station plundered, our Wang clan was already on the verge of collapse! If news that our salt permits were stolen gets out, then our Wang clan is finished! Brother Chu, in all our years of friendship, I’ve never begged you for anything. I’m really begging you now!”

“Brother Wang, please stand up! What are you doing?!” Chu Zhongtian hurriedly tried to get him to his feet. Out of all the great clans, these two were still the closest. After decades of dealings, Chu Zhongtian had come to treat this person as a friend.

“The Wang clan is about to collapse, what is the use in this old one keeping his dignity?” Wang Fu sat on the ground, refusing to get up.

Chu Zhongtian’s face was grave. “Let me think things over. There’s just too much at stake.”

When he heard Chu Zhongtian’s change in tone, Wang Fu immediately grew overjoyed. “Thank you so much, brother Chu! I cannot thank brother Chu enough! Whether or not we succeed will depend on the will of heaven!”

Chu Zhongtian returned to his own estate. When he brought this matter up with Qin Wanru, her face darkened immediately. “There’s no way we can do this! Dear, how can you be so confused as to agree to such a thing?”

Chu Zhongtian sighed. “I’m fully aware of the dangers behind such an endeavor. But Wang Fu’s words aren’t entirely without reason. If we really do pay the advance tax for every salt permit, the costs would be too high. At that price, none of the common folk would buy it.”

Qin Wanru cut in at once. “So what if no one buys it? Our Chu clan can still shoulder the burden of a single year of lost revenue. The royal court sent Sang Hong to keep an eye on us. If we really tried something and he became aware of it, it would certainly spell trouble for us!”

“The Chu clan’s situation isn’t as great as you make it sound,” Chu Zhongtian said. “We have suffered losses for several years in a row now, and it’s only recently that things have begun to take a slight turn for the better. Even so, we cannot afford to shoulder such a burden!”

“Actually, I’ve always wanted to ask you about this,” Qin Wanru said in response. “Even though we aren’t perfect at operating our businesses, the Chu clan still has large shares in the massive salt and iron industries. Just where did all the money from these businesses go? Why do we keep suffering losses year after year?”

“I didn’t plan to hide this from you. I guess it’s because you’ve had so much else on your mind that you’ve never asked about it.” Chu Zhongtian paused. “You should know about the Salt Inspection Department, right?”

“Of course,” Qin Wanru replied.

Chu Zhongtian proceeded to tell her about the entire affair.

Because of the indecent profits on offer in the salt industry, the Salt Inspection Department had been created by the court, and was put in charge of inspecting the production, transport, and smuggling of salt.

The Linchuan Commandery branch of the Salt Inspection Department oversaw their operations in Brightmoon City. The positions of salt commissioner in this department were extremely lucrative positions that countless officials longed for.

However, because the Chu clan had been in charge of the salt trade in Brightmoon City for so many years, all those who wanted these positions had to be vetted and approved by the Chu clan.

To a certain degree, these salt commissioners were either members of the Chu clan themselves, or individuals close to the Chu clan.

However, the royal court was rife with politics. Few officials were upright, and most were involved with currying favor or greedily pursuing selfish but mutually beneficial interests with other members of the court.

Every single salt commissioner, their assistants, and even the lower-level officials under them wanted a slice of the pie.

The Chu clan’s masters could only turn a blind eye as the corruption grew. Firstly, these officials were individuals close to the Chu clan to begin with. Secondly, there were many unwritten rules that governed life as an official of the royal court. This was the case for the Salt Inspection Department, as with all other departments.

Salt commissioners were often promoted to the central authorities or transferred out to serve as great local officials, forming a huge web throughout the royal court. Touching a single issue could cause a ripple effect that drew attention to everything else.

If the Chu clan dared to speak out, they could end up offending an extremely terrifying power.

As this rampant corruption festered over a long period of time, the amount siphoned off by the Salt Inspection Department reached an astronomical figure.

In the past, the Chu clan could still conceal it through clever accounting. However, when it fell to Chu Zhongtian’s generation to lead, this number had already grown to the point where it could no longer be hidden.

Qin Wanru’s face grew pale as she heard his account. “So you’re saying that all of the money the Chu clan has made these past few years has been used to fill in the hole made by hundreds of years of greedy salt commissioners?” 

Chu Zhongtian wore a bitter smile. “That’s correct.”

“Why?!” Qin Wanru was furious. “Why does our Chu clan have to compensate for the greed of these salt commissioners?”

“How do you think our Chu clan has managed to occupy Brightmoon City’s lucrative salt and iron businesses for so long?” Chu Zhongtian countered gravely. “Could such a thing be possible purely through the fruits of our ancestors’ efforts? Or was it because we’ve relied on the protection offered by all of those officials?

“There was no need to worry about it before. But now that the emperor seems inclined to make a move against our Chu clan, we have to be more careful, and so we tried to fill in some of the debt created by these salt commissioners. We have to at least be able to cover it in our accounting, so that we can survive the royal court’s inspections.”

Chu Zhongtian paused for a moment before continuing. “This is why I was so confident that we could remain neutral despite the pressure from both the emperor and King Qi’s faction. It’s because we have countless backers behind us in the royal court! They surely do not wish for something to happen to the Chu clan. If it did, not a single one of them will be able to get away!”

Qin Wanru was suddenly shaken. “You handed Chuyan an account book in an extremely serious manner before. Back then, you said that it was an account book that recorded our business partners and dealings. With what you just told me, I gather that it was probably proof of the crimes committed by those many generations of salt commissioners.”

Chu Zhongtian nodded. “Indeed. As long as this account book isn’t lost, our Chu clan will survive, whether we’re threatened by the emperor or by King Qi!”